Digital Society Foundation is led by founder and Board member Christopher James Sampson who has worked with information systems since the 1970’s and has extensive experience in systems design and implementation across the public and private sectors.
Chris has presented on knowledge systems and management to governments around the world, including North America, Europe, Asia, the Pacific Islands and his home region of Australasia. Chris has also presented at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
To contact Chris and the Digital Society Foundation team, please use the contact form here.
Team
Assisting Chris are a number of graduate researchers and professional legal, accounting and administrative experts who are kindly donating their time to assist with the establishment of Digital Society Foundation and the Connect the Blue Continent initiative.

James Groom
Board member James Groom has worked for leading law firms in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, specialising in the areas of corporate and commercial law. He has also worked as senior corporate counsel and company secretary for the Australasian operations of one of the world’s largest financial services organisations. James presents frequently on corporate governance and compliance matters. He has degrees in law and arts (first class honours in political science) from the University of Tasmania.

Julie Mayo
Board member Julie Mayo is an experienced events co-ordinator, customer service professional and jewellery designer who has worked internationally with prestigious hospitality organisations including InterContinental Hotels and Excellent Coast Convention Centre in Yokohama, Japan. Julie Mayo is assisting the Foundation with set-up logistics, sponsor liaison and events co-ordination as we progress the establishment of Digital Society Foundation.

Elizabeth Hart
Policy Analyst Lizzie Hart has contributed to our social media campaign and researched/written several of the blog posts on Connect the Blue Continent. With a degree in International Studies, Lizzie offers a perspective of international politics and environmental management to our research. Lizzie is currently enjoying an internship at the International Telecommunications Union in Geneva, Switzerland but will continue to assist us to Connect the Blue Continent. au.linkedin.com/pub/elizabeth-hart/56/320/764

Bahar Forghani
Researcher Bahar Forghani achieved her masters in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University. Bahar’s background is in Policy analysis and environmental management and she is interested in working on regional and community development projects. Bahar is focussing on stakeholder management and developing case studies around current issues within the Pacific Islands and how broadband can assist. au.linkedin.com/pub/bahar-forghani/42/689/3b1
Governance
We are establishing an Advisory Board – please review current governance arrangement here.